CyberSource buys BidPay.com for $1.8 million

CyberSource Corp., provider of electronic payment and risk-management solutions, has acquired BidPay.com from First Data Corp. for $1.8 million. CyberSource plans to re-launch BidPay, a payment option for online auctions, in upcoming months.

As part of the purchase, CyberSource acquired proprietary technology, databases and certain intellectual property rights, including exclusive rights to the BidPay.com brand. BidPay will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of CyberSource.

CyberSource bought BidPay to expand its online payment services, a spokesman says. “In December of last year, First Data made a strategic decision to exit the online auction business and BidPay become available to us,” he says.

BidPay, launched in 1999, was one of the original payment options for online auctions. It had acquired 4 million registered users prior to ceasing operations in December, CyberSource said.